Alzheimer’s and the Law: Counseling Clients with Dementia and Their Families

^{Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia characterized by
the loss of memory and other intellectual abilities to the point that the
disease interferes with daily life. About 4-5 million people in the United
States have some degree of dementia, and Alzheimer’s is the most common form.
There are many legal questions that need to be addressed following a diagnosis
of dementia; financial questions, health care concerns, and ethical questions
and lawyers need to understand both the law and the emotions of working with a
client who has Alzheimer’s disease. These questions include the following:}

^{How do we get health care for the patient?
What are the ethics of working with clients with
Alzheimer’s?
What options are available for health care?
How are these options going to affect the patient
and the family/spouse?
What is the long-term outlook for everyone?
How can we protect the family assets?}

^{Most attorneys are not accustomed to
dealing with a client with Alzheimer’s and probably are not prepared to answer
these types of questions. Alzheimer’s and the
Practice of Law is designed to give you the knowledge needed to
answer these questions and guide your client through the arduous journey of
dealing with dementia. Including interviews with doctors, a hospice nurse, and
the leaders of the Alzheimer’s Association, this handbook examines this disease
and unique practice from every important angle.}

Rick L. Law is the lead attorney for Law ElderLaw, LLP, and resides in Chicago, Illinois. Kerry Peck is the Managing Partner of Peck Bloom, LLC, and lives in Aurora, IL.